I recently saw the film Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s with my friends Deborah M. and Nancy G. (Nancy is co-founder and co-owner of Zeitgeist Films, and this year she distributed the New York zeitgeist films Bill Cunningham New York and Studio 54, and many others.) One segment of the fascinating documentary about Bergdorf Goodman was devoted to the efforts that go on behind the scene to create the Christmas window displays. The displays wrap around the corner of the building, from W. 57th St. (facing the Plaza Hotel) to Fifth Avenue. There are about 6 or 7 full-sized picture windows, complete with picture frames of various sorts, including ivy, as well as a number of smaller insets. Each individual window is indeed a work of art, filled with treasures.
Bergdorf Goodman has been lighting up 5th Avenue for over 100 years, moving up the avenue and occupying several locations over the years. The main store, on the west side of Fifth Avenue, opened in 1928. They also have a men’s store, across the street.
I first admired the window displays on Fifth Avenue the winter of 2015. The photos above are from this first foray into New York’s Christmas magic. Some of you may have seen my video of the Lord and Taylor display. Sadly, L&T is closing its flagship store on Fifth Avenue, and they did not have displays this year—just “Everything Must Go” signs filling every window. So sad to see a New York institution die, to be replaced by WeWork headquarters. (Lord and Taylor is now owned by the Hudson Bay Company, and other locations remain open, but not the flagship.)
Awash in more than seven million Swarovski crystals, the 2015 theme was appropriately named Brilliant Holidays. Two of the windows shown in my slide show are called The Crown Jewels and The Treasure Chest. I think you’ll be able to tell which images are part of these incredible displays.
In any case, I was especially motivated to go look at Bergdorf’s windows this Christmas (2018) after seeing the documentary. And I thought it would be interesting to compare this year’s windows with the ones I saw in 2015. So I’ve prepared the “then and now” slideshows for you–two sets for each year. These windows are truly the epitome of fine craftsmanship, creativity, bling, and extravagance. This year’s theme is Bergdorf Goodies, with all manner of cakes, cookies, and candies, and I wanted to enter into these displays and start biting. But really, I got a sugar rush just by looking at them!
In case you are wondering how these windows come into being, I highly recommend you see the documentary. Once the theme for the current year’s windows is selected, craftspeople in Brooklyn create the backdrops and sculpture creatures that populate the displays. Other groups of people select clothes and accessories to work with the theme, dress the manikins, and mount the displays. I can’t imagine how much it costs to create these gorgeous displays for the enjoyment of New Yorkers and visitors. Of course, the goods on display cost hundreds of thousands of dollars too. I must confess I wish I could wear clothes like this from time to time. They are so fantastical and fun.
It was a rainy night, but there was a constant stream of people passing by and stopping to admire the windows. It was a challenge to get the unobstructed views of the main picture windows. A New York couple who clearly looks at the windows every year was commenting on the displays, and I couldn’t resist filming them.
“Oooooh. Adorable. Fantastic. They must be just divinely inspired to come up with one of a kind things. These are not normal off the rack. These are things that they actually made. Look at these manikins, how skinny the legs are. No sense of reality. These are just divine. This is the height of the trade. It doesn’t get any better than this. No one can do anything … like this. They made these… they make everything. It’s all too great. [Street vendor: “Umbrella, umbrella…”]”
After enjoying the display at Bergdorf Goodman, I continued down Fifth Avenue, past Tiffany’s and Trump Tower, to the always decadently rich Dolce & Gabbana display. My first New York designer dress was a Dolce & Gabbana satin party dress, which I lost 15 pounds to fit into. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for D&G since then! This clip shows the Cake Factory in one of the windows at BG, followed by the window at D&G:
Continuing south down Fifth Avenue, I saw the marvellous Saks Fifth Avenue display, across the street from Rockefeller Center. People were thronging the sidewalk across the street, and barricades were up on both sides to prevent gawkers from seeping onto the street and causing vehicular incidents.
It is an amazing display of lights set to a Christmas carol. After this, there was a pause, and then the lights started up again to New York, New York. Ah, home!
Finally, I headed along W. 47th St., over to the BDFM subway line on Sixth Ave. that would whisk me home. On W. 47th, I saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree and rink, as well as FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store on earth. It was open on Fifth Avenue continuously for 150 years, then closed 3 years ago. It just reopened at Rockefeller Center this November, in time for Christmas. The splendor of life-sized stuffies is back!
